A friend just found a painted turtle in a parking lot and bought it to us since we have a pond. We would love?

Question

to keep it. We thought it liked it in the pond and around the stones since she was swimming around, but all he/she wants to do is take off across the yard.. It will surely get injured if it takes off? What should we do? We always wanted to add a turtle to the pond....Should we return it to the parking lot where it was found? There is a grassy area near the parking lot.

Answer 1

HI. I would suggest you return the turtle to a safe area, close to a body of water. It is very likely that it is a female, trying to find a place to lay her eggs. If she is not allowed to do so, she could become eggbound and die without immediate veterinary care.

She will be very miserable in captivity, and in alot of places, its illegal to remove wild turtles and keep them. She will be much better off back in the wild where she belongs. If you do want a turtle for your pond, I encourage you to look around for a local herp society, or look on turtlehomes.org to adopt a turtle. There are millions of turtles that are needing a good home, and you should be able to adopt one pretty easily if you have a good sized pond.(I wouldn't get more then one tho, unless your pond is over 1000gallons.) I'm sure you can give a turtle a good home in your pond. But please return the wild one where she belongs.

Answer 2

Give it to me i trap snaping turtles and painted turtles the market for them is great i get 2.50 a pound for snappers and paints well paints only bring a buck a piece no matter the size so i really dont fool with them, anyway keep the turtle in your pond it will def be safer there then in a parking lot. P.S. i dont want people to think im mean or cruel i love reptiles but i got to make a living too and snapping turtles are very plentyfull here and they pay the bills plus some.

Answer 3

they are movers thats for sure, I know I have  had two Sliders for 36 yrs now plus a 8 yr old and a 5 yr old..

I have had them in a 150gal pond for about 6 yrs now..they can get sick easily if not feed right.

**Here is some important and a lot of info. If he or she is small get feeder guppies or small feeder goldfish, frozen brown worms ..even meal worms.  

You may want to get some black plastic boardering for the yard from a Home Base and contruct it aroung the pond and stack the rocks on the outside to cover the black and the RES can't get out. The plastic must be taller tham she can get her or his claws at the top of the board and jump and run for freedom.

Depending on how your winters are, they could be kept in the pond with heaters like I do, or transfered to a kiddy pond in a garage for the winter..

Some info:

**Red-eared sliders, Gender especially juveniles, can be difficult to s*x. Gender in adults is determined by external physical characteristics and behavior. Males have longer fore claws (which are use in courtship), a longer tail length. Males are smaller in  size and shell length.  Turtles are considered juveniles till after 5 yrs old.

Their Home **The tank  size for small  2” re-eared slider should be a 20-gallon aquarium minimum. As a general rule, the water depth should be at least 2 times the turtle's length, with several extra inches of air space between the surface of the water to the top edge of the tank to prevent escapes. So if your turtle is 4” around  he needs at least 10 to 12” of water to swim. For ONE 4 to 5 inch long sliders, the recommended minimum enclosure surface area is 50 gal plus tank with an extra square foot for each additional turtle.

What they EAT. ****In the wild, re-eared sliders eat both fish, crickets, worms basically anything that moves and  plant sources of food. However, juveniles are mainly meat eaters but still love the greens. The  diet for the lil guys \s should consist  of a commercial aquatic turtle pellets and small feeders guppies or goldfish or minows. Hatchlings and juveniles should be fed on a daily basis. The diet can be supplemented with live fish of an appropriate size (guppies, goldfish), tubiflex cubed worms and earthworms. Plant matter, in the form of  leafy greens or finely chopped mixed vegetables romaine and butter lettuce, can be offered once weekly.

Fill tank with approx 20 feeder guppies and or 10 to 15 small goldfish. you’ll know when to replenish the live food supply. just count what’s left and then fill it up again. Get a cuttle bone from the bird dept and drop in the water for added calcium. Hopefully they may eat it and that’s what you want. They need the calcium for shell growth and a good healthy turtle. Adults diet may consist of some commercial turtle pellets. Plus 80% of their diet is fresh alive fish to catch in their water which also gives them exercise when trying to catch to eat. Adults should be fed greens , romaine, red leaf lettuce, mustard greens, dandelion, watercress, parsley. Swiss chard, shredded carrots, shredded squash, thawed frozen mixed vegetables and miscellaneous fruits. Adults can be fed every two to three days. NO iceberg or cabbage!!

Total Body length: 5-8" average, up to 12 inches max. Life span: 15-25+ years

Males have the longer foreclaws..

Water quality and Filtration ***Sliders are voracious feeders and tend to foul the water real quickly with their messy eating habits and frequent pooping.  You need a  filter for good water quality. Partial to full water changes can be performed. Many different filter systems are available.

*** Health Problems.  If you take proper care of your red-eared slider by providing excellent housing, nutrition, lighting, and heating, it is unlikely to ever become ill or injured. However, it’s still important to familiarize yourself with ailments common to sliders so that you can quickly identify them in your own slider, should it become ill. The following are some of the most common medical problems among red-eared sliders.

“Fungal infections” are fairly common among red-eared sliders, especially younger ones. If you notice what looks like a light layer of cotton on your slider’s shell or eyes or in its mouth, this is most likely some form of fungal infection. Although their appearance can be alarming, most infections in their early stages are fully treatable at home. If a fungal infection remains untreated, however, it can spread across the entire body and cause serious harm to your turtle.

To treat a mild fungal infection, immerse your red-eared slider in a warm saltwater bath for about half an hour each day, using a soft sponge to gently scrub the infected regions. You can also treat patches of fungus with topical applications of a mild antiseptic, such as povidone-iodine. As long as the problem isn’t severe, you should notice signs of recovery within a day or two, and a full recovery in about 10–14 days.

If your turtle has a persistent fungal infection that home treatment isn’t curing, take it to the vet for treatment. Several medications are available that can address a fungal infection if it hasn’t spread too far.”

**Shell Rot. *** First make a dry box to keep the turtle in, shell rot needs water to grow.

Keep it warm and give it plenty of light. Scrub the shell gently with a toothbrush and water. Let the turtle swim for about 20 minutes a day in something other than his pond or tank that has real  clean water. 1-2 times a day take a cotton ball apply Hydrogen Peroxide to it then to his shell. It'll start bubbling which means its cleaning it. it. DO NOT get it in his eyes. Then clean the shell and apply providone-iodine solution to the shell, coat the shell and don't clean it off until he is ready to swim the next day.** Keep this up for several weeks and it should go away. . MOST important !!! TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

Respiratory Infections *****Sliders, cooter, map, painted, yellow bellied and other aquatic species are susceptible to respiratory infections. Many respiratory infections that can affect sliders are mild and easily treatable in their EARLY  stages, but there are also some particularly virulent infections that can kill a turtle very quickly without veterinary attention. Sliders usually develop respiratory infections when their tank is too cold. **Symptoms of an infection include a runny nose, wheezing, lopsided swimming (an ailing lung changes the turtle’s buoyancy), lethargy, and a refusal to eat. If you identify the illness in its early stages, you may be able to treat it by removing the sick slider from its quarters into a new, clean tank (especially if you keep multiple sliders, since the majority of respiratory infections are contagious) and keeping it a few degrees warmer than normal. Warmth is the most crucial factor in treating respiratory infections in the home. If the condition persists for more than a few days or worsens, bring your slider to your veterinarian, who will treat the infection with antibiotics.”

Contact the “herpetologicalsocieties.com, for a turtle vet in your city and state.http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll275...